802 

:opv ^ 



Lincoln County 

NEW MEXICO 



In the Heart of the Land of Sunshine where Rich 

and Varied Natural Resources offer exceptional 

Opportunities to the Farmer, the Stock 

Grower, the Prospector and Investor 




Published by Authority of 

THE BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION 

OF NEW MEXICO 



1909 



/ 



t 



LINCOLN COUNTY 

NEW MEXICO 



Huiulreils of thousands of acres of land 
now open to lioniestead entry. 

(Miniate and soils adapted to I lie suc- 
cessful growth of every product of orcli- 
anl. farm and garden which will flourish 
iii the Southwest. 

Thousands of acres of land whii'h may 
be farmed without irrigation. 

Range for tliousands uf cattle, sheep 
and goats. 

Mountain ranges carrying liigh values 
in gold, coppei-. iron and coal; mines 
which have produced millions; a vast 
area for the pit.spector. 



Mountain valleys with fine opportuni- 
ties for development of small irrigation 
projects. 

Adequate transpoi-tation to active mar- 
kets. 

(lood local government. flourishing 
towns and villages, excellent schools. 

Magniflcent mountain scenei-y. 

A climate to which the United States 
Government has given official recognition 
as unrivaled for the alleviation of pul- 
monary tuberculosis and diseases of the 
throat and lungs. 




Published by Authority of 

THE BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION 

OF NEW MEXICO 



1909 



Further information concerning Lincoln Connty, or any section Of New Mexico will be 
furnished promptly upon application to H. B HENING, Secretary Bureau of Immigi-ation, 
Albuijuerque, New Mexico. 



r Ts u <L. 
Li h/S 




AiiO >i;5 j§j|): 



FORTUNATELY for the arm5' of homeseekers now finding its way into the 
Southwest New Mexico has a number of favored regions as j^et thinly popu- 
lated and offering wide areas of good land, either open to homestead entry 
under the federal land laws, or which may be purchased at prices within reach of 
the man of limited means, thus offering opportunity to the man who is seeking to 
better his condition by establishing a home in a country as yet 
FOREWORD comparatively vindeveloped and in which prospects for develop- 
ment and consequent profit are great. Li^jcoln county, over much 
of its great area, is one of these favored regions. Until the past four or five years 
the greater part of the county was considered fit only for grazing; but, as in many 
other sections of New Mexico, the application of scientific farming has demon- 
strated that crops may be grown withovit irrigation over a ^•ery considerable por- 
tion of the county. The discovery of the possibilities of farming without irrigation 
has attracted Avide attention to the county; homeseekers are turning there in con- 
stantly increasing numbers and the demand for information is great. The purpose 
of this book is to supply this information in compact, accurate form. In its prepara- 
tion the Bureau of Immigration has had the co-operation of a number of reliable 
business men in Lincoln county who are thoroughly familiar with local conditions, 
and the information offered, having been carefully verified, may be relied upon. 
The effort throughout has been to conservatism in stating the resources and 
advantages of the county. 




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A Brief Outline of General 
Conditions 

LINCOLN county was one of the original sub-divisions into which New Mexico 
was formed upon its creation by Congress in 1850. From its original area 
have been taken all the counties of southeastern New Mexico. Lincoln, the 
county Stat, is one of the historic towns of tlie Southwest. Near the old military 
post of Fort Stanton, now transformed into a great hospital for victims of con- 
sumption; not far from Fort Sumner, as distances were reckoned in those days; 
and on the high-road to the Pecos country, the town in the early days was one of 
importance. Set deep in its picturesque valley, shadowed on either side by tower- 
ing mountains, it has been the scene of many of the stirring incidents of the time 
when Indian warfare and outlawry were something more than memories of old 
men. Many a famous tiial has taken place in the battered old court house, where 
Billy the Kid of notorious memory, was once confined. It was the meeting place 
of cattlemen for two hundred miles around, when cattlemen ruled the country and 
volumes of history and incident of absorbing interest might be written of its 
early days. 

Eut in these years of rapid development Lincoln has had to give way to the 
vigorous young towns along the railroads and the people of Lincoln county are far 
more interested in their material prosperity and progress than in history, for Lin- 
coln county is no longer part of the frontier, but a peaceful, prosperous, well-gov- 
erned community, part of an equally prosperous and well-governed commonwealth. 

The county is located somewhat to the south and east of the center of New 
Mexico. It is bounded on the north by Torrance and Guadalupe counties, on the 
east by Chaves, on the south by Chaves and Otero and on the west by Socorro 
county. Its total area is 4,659 square miles, or nearly 3,000,000 acres, of which ap- 
proximately 1,800,000 acres are open to homestead entry. A considerable portion 
of the area is classed as mineral land while 596,603 acres are included in the Lin- 
coln National Forest which extends from the southern boundary well over the 
central portion of the county. 




A Bird': 



-l-lic \ icw of I'urt Slant(;ii, Sliowiu; 
and the Hospital Farm 



lllooded Stock 



LINCOLN COUNTY 




llaiK-h House, the Carrizozo Cattle Kaiieli Company. 
Two Miles North of Carrizozo 



The general topographical features of the county are clearly shown in the 
accompanying map, the country rising from east and west by sharp elevations into 
a chain of imposing mountain ranges which mount at their highest points to an ele- 
vation of near 12,000 feet. The towering, snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Blanca 
reach 11,900 feet; El Capitan is 10,023 feet, while the Gallinas reaches 9,798 and 
Carizo 9,390. It is a mountain chain presenting scenery without rival in the South- 
west. Little known, because little advertised, its grassy slopes and rugged canyons 
offer at once a playground and a .'sanitarium for the nation. The high, dry air of 
these elevations is healing and invigorating, while fish in the streams and game in 
the forests offer abundant sport. 

A very large part of the drainage area of the Pecos River lies in Lincoln 
county. The Rio Hondo, one of its principal tributaries, rises in the south-central 
portion of the county and is fed by numerous streams of purest mountain water of 
which the principal ones are the Rio Bonito, and Eagle and Ruidoso creeks. The 
headwaters of the Rio Felix and Rio Salado are also in the county while Nogal 
creek and smaller independent water courses flow west into the Rio Grande during 
the flood seasons. 

The mountain ranges are broken by small valleys in which irrigation has been 
carried on with splendid results for many years. On the higher mesas a so-called 
"dry farming" has been practiced for >ears. But conditions on these mesas are 
little different from the humid regions, the average rainfall being sufficient to 
mature an>' crop without special methods of cultivation. The variety of crops, 
however, is limited because of the altitude and consequent brevity of the season. 

The dry farming lands to which homeseekers are now turning lie chiefly along 
the railroad in the eastern and northern portion of the county, centering thus far 
around Carrizozo, Capitan, White Oaks, Nogal, Corona and Oscuro. 

Lincoln county's present population is a little more than 8,000. At the present 
rate of inrcease, which is rapid in the towns and villages near the railroad, the 
census of 1910 will show a population of 10,000. The county's a.ssessed valuation in 
1907 was $1,438,281.00. For 1908 it was $2,020,380.00. showing the amazing gain 
in a single year of $582,099.00. The increase in the 1909 assessment, which is now 
being returned, will not be so great, but it will be large enough to show the con- 
tinued prosperity of the county. 

While social conditions and conveniences are not what they are in the more 
thickly populated regions of the country, they are in no wise the conditions of the 
frontier. The people are law-abiding, industrious and prosperous and the immi- 
gration now coming in is of the very best class, from the central and south- 
ern states. 



LINCOLN C^UUNTY 7 

There are twent.v-fi\e postoffices in the county, and for every post office there 
is a school. The county school system is improving with e\'ery .vear and no home- 
seeker need fear that his children will lack the advantages of a common school 
education. In some of the towns as in Carrizozo, White Oaks and Capitan the 
school buildings would be a credit to any community. The school population, 
according to the census of 1908 is 2,111. Every town of any size has its church 
organizations and, taken as a whole, the man coming here from east, north or 
south will find conditions little different from those in the more thinly settled sec- 
tions of his home state. 

Lincoln county presents tremendous natural resources, now taking form in 
diversified industries, any one of which, fully developed, will be sufficient to sup- 
port a large population. The county affords opportunities for profitable farming 
in all its classes of orchard, field and garden. Its stock growing industry will 
always be a wealth producer and the latent resources of its highly mineralized 
districts can hardl.y be over-estimated. Manufacturing will come with exploitation 
and development of the county's vast deposits of coal and iron and there are also 
large resources of timber, building stone and manufacturing clays. Add to these 
resources a vast area of public land, as large in itself as some of the eastern states, 
and the region becomes one of undoubted promise. 

Adequate transportation facilities are provided by the El Paso and South- 
western railroad system which crosses the county from its southwest corner to a 
point near the center of the northern boundary. This road connects at Tucumcari 
in Quay county with the Rock Island-Frisco system, forming one of the principal 
trans-continental railroads. From Carrizozo, the division headquarters of the 
Southwestern system, a branch line is operated to Capitan, reaching the southern 
and southeastern sections of the county. 

The production of fruit, grain and truck in this county has never yet been 
sufficient to meet the local demand and the prolMem of a market is therefore in 
the future. It will never be a difficult one for El Paso and the Arizona mining 
camps to the south, and Kansas City to the north offer ready markets for every 
pound of produce, and every hoof and horn that can be grown. 




A Lincoln County Trout Stream 



Farming m Lincoln County 

FARMING in Lincoln county is in two classes: Irrigated and Un-irrigated. The 
former and older system has been in use along the streams of the fertile moun- 
tain valleys since the first settlement of New Mexico. Along the Hondo, the 
Ponito, the Ruidoso. Eagle creek and other smaller stn ams are beautiful alfalfa 
fields and flourishing orchards, demonstrating what may be accomplished with 
thrift and energj'. The irrigation systems are primitive, the water being taken 
from the streams by crude diverting dams into .gra\ity canals or acequias which 
distribute it through the various farms. The water rights generally go with 
the land and the canals are maintained upon the community basis, each water 
user contributing his proportion of labor or its ecjuivalent in money to the clean- 
ing and repair of the system. It is doubtful if there is an acre of land in the 
county, which can be irrigated from a surface flow, or stream which Is open to 
homestead entry. All of this land has long since been talven up and the owners 
are generally not anxious to sell it, for it is property steadily increasing in value 
and from wiiich a substantial and certain li\elihood is to be derived. 

There is an opportunity here, howe\er, for the homeseeker or the investor 
with small capital. The irrigation systems now in use may be vastly improved 
and in many cases the acreage may be extended with modern methods of ditch 
construction. There are also several sites in the county considered feasible for 
small private irrigation projects and with the tremen<lous demand for irrigated 
land now evident in every section of New Mexico, the dc\rlo))ment of these pro- 
.iects is not likely to be long delayed. 

As is the case everj^where el.se in New Mexico, irrigated land in l^incoln county 
will produce practically every crop adapted to tlie Southwest, and this means 
practically every crop growing in the temperate zone save the citrus fruits. The 
soil along the water courses, being the deposits of c( nturies, is rich, deep and easy 
to work. Its fertility is constant^- rcnewrd by the depositing of the silt carried in 




Baling Hay on a Lincoln County Ranch 



LIXCOLX COUNTY 




Angus oil the Boiiito Kiver Xcar Intake of the Pipe Line Wliich 
Carries XA'ater Thirty Miles (o Carrizozo 



the irrigation water, and the yields are certain ami lionntiful. Tlie principal field 
crop is alfalfa, which is easy to cultivate, harvest and market. It is a crop which 
never fails and there is always a demand for it at high prices. All of the field 
crops which have been tried have brought good yields and garden truck gives 
tine returns. 

Much of the irrigated land in this county is in orchards and fruit growing is 
destined to become one of the chief industries of the county. Both climate and 
soil seem to furnish the ideal combination making for splendid shape, coloring 
and perfect flavor which cause this fruit to bring the top market price wherever 
introduced. This is particularly true of the apples. Lincoln county apples are 
generally of a high flavor not equalled by the product of any other district. They 
are firm and beautifully colored and the late lipening varieties, which are most 
successful, are packed in October and retain all tlieir qualities of form, firmness 
and flavor until the following May. 

While the area subject to irrigation is lin:ited. there is still opportunity for 
considerable extension of acreage and development of the land now in use and the 
man who has a small capital to invest will find that by intensive cultivation this 
land will bring fine returns. 

L^p to a few years ago it was the general belief that, aside from the lands 
subject to irrigation and the limited area on the high mesas where the rainfall is 
great, Lincoln county's vast area was only fit for grazing. Put irrigated lands 

were scarce and a few hardy farmers, seeing the success of 
DRY FARMING the so-called "dry-farrring" method in other sections of the 

Southwest, tried it on the plains and mesas, always before 
considered the exclusive domain of the* stock-grower. The results were surprising. 
Xot only did the more hardy feed crops, which flouish in this region, produce 
abundantly, but fine returns were had from corn, oats, barley and rye. The older 
residents were astonished, shook their heads and continued to predict failure. 
Put there was no such hesitation on the part of the newcomers who about this 
lime began to invade the whole plains section of eastern New Mexico in such 
numbers that it became necessary to add many clerks in the land offices and 
finally to establish a fifth land office at Tucumcari in Quay county. These people 
were willing to take a chance. Some of them failed, but most of them succeeded 
and the influx continues with little sign of abatement. During the past two years 
thirty thousand original homestead entries have been made in New Mexico, 
four-fifths of them by homeseekers from the east and middle west. 



10 LINCOLN COUNTY 

Lincoln county has had its share of this immigration and as the possibilities 
of the county become better known more and more people are turning there. 

It is difficult to say with any degree of certainty just how great is the extent 
of the county's "dry-farming" area. Lands heretofore considered worthless are 
constantly being proven crop-producers under the scientific method. In Quay 
county, to the northeast, the dry farming area was at first thought limited to a 
very small district around Tucumcari. The homeseekers, however, finding this 
land taken up spread out over the surrounding country and as they spread out 
others came in on a still wider circle and so this district has finally expanded over 
a considerable part of a county which five years ago was considered only fair for 
grazing. The farmers continue to succeed, the degree of success depending in 
large measure upon the industry of the individual and the faithfulness with which 
he applies the two or three vital rules of the scientific method of cultivation. 

In Lincoln county at present the proven area of dry farming lands lies around 
Carrizozo, where is the greatest acreage; around Oscuro, Corona, Capitan, Nogal 
and White Oaks. How much these districts will be extended cannot be predicted 
with any degree of safety. Only experiment will prove it. 

In this, as in all other dry farming sections of New Mexico the most' certain 
and successful crops thus far grown are the non-saccharine sorghums. Milo-maize 
and Kaffir corn. Being valuable, both for grain and forage, they have proven 
a favorite crop everywhere. The Milo-maize is probably the most drought-resist- 
ant of the two and matures in a little the shortest time. Both, however, will grow 
with less water than any other dry farming crop unless it be the millets which 
have not yet been grown to any extent. Oats, rje and barley do well and corn 
has been grown with fair success, producing under proper cultivation from forty to 
fifty bushels to the acre, in seasons of average rainfall. 

Broom corn is a reasonably sure crop and produces a good yield. When 
properly cured and prepared for market it brings a good price. 

The Mexican bean has been planted to some extent and yields from 600 to 
1,000 pounds to the acre. Some experiments have also been tried with the white 
Navy bean, which while it does not bring as heavy a yield, commands a better 
price on the market. 

All the common garden vegetables will grow when properly cultivated and in 
seasons of average rainfall Irish potatoes produce well. 

It is too early to say what the results from fruit growing will be on "dry" 
land. Some orchards have been planted in the non-irrigated districts of the terri- 
tory and seem to be doing well. But it will be a year or inore before they can 
come into bearing and until that time any prediction as to the result would be 
without foundation. Some experts predict success; others predict failure. It will 
be a year and probably two before there is any satisfactorj' demonstration. 

The homeseeker or farmer who is going onto "dry" or non-irrigated land 
should always keep in mind the fact that he is entering upon a kind of farming 
entirely different from that of the humid regions where the rainfall is abundant 

and certain and that before he can hope for any 

SUCCESS MEANS WORK success at all HE MUST LEARN HOW TO DRY 

AND PERSISTENCE P^ARM. The cardinal principle of the dry farming 

method is conservation of the water supply in the 
soil. To accomplish this special methods of tillage are absolutely essential. These 
methods are as different from farming methods in the humid regions as are the 
methods of farming by irrigation. They are no more difficult than the methods 
used in the humid region when once understood — BUT THEY MUST BE UNDER- 
STOOD AND THEY MUST BE APPLIED BEFORE THE FARMIi:R CAN EX- 
PECT TO GET RESULTS. 

It is not desired to hold out to the homeseeker, either for Lincoln county or 
any part of New Mexico, a picture of a land of promise and plenty where a rich 
livelihood may be had without effort. In this country as in any other counto- 
successful farming means hard work and plenty of it. In the dry farming dis- 
tricts not only hard work but intelligent application of the scientific method is 
required. This method is not difficult to apply and when faithfully followed it is 
possible for the industrious, thrifty farmer to gain not only a livelihood but a sur- 
plus to put aside for the rainy day. 



LINCOLN COUNTY 



11 



It is the opinion and advice of the Bureau of Immigration, as well as of 
every one who has given careful thought to the question that no homeseeker 
should undertake or be encouraged to undertake the making of a home upon dry 
farming land, depending upon his crop exclusively for his livelihood, unless he 
has a small capital in reserve. Every homeseeker, in a word, who goes upon raw 
land, expecting to make a living from the start, should have from $500.00 to 
$1,000.00 to fall back on. The first year on any homestead is difficult; and this 
is particularly true of dry farming land. This is in no way a reflection upon this 
kind of farming. It is simply the truth. The methods of dry farming are new to 
the average homeseeker. He must of necessity learn them before he can succeed, 
and learning takes time. Sod land at its best is difficult to work the first season 
and while methods which are unfamiliar are being mastered, while the raw land 
is being brought into good shape, while the house is being built and the home- 
seeker is getting settled, there should be something in reserve to live on in case 
of failure or partial failure. The homeseeker who comes onto the land thus 
equipped will win. The homeseeker who comes without this equipment may win, 
but he takes a chance against suffering for himself and his family. 

The subject, "Dry Farming in New Mexico" is fully discussed in a bulletin 
issued by the Bureau of Immigration and prepared by Prof. J. D. Tinsley, soil 
physicist and field expert of the New Mexico Agricultural College, who is one of 
the first authorities on the subject in the West. This bulletin will be sent free to 
intending settlers upon application to the Secretary, Bureau of Immigration, 
Albuquerque, N. M. 

Until within the past two or three years the live stock industry has been 
considered the most important in Lincoln county. Since the earliest settlement 
cattle, horses, sheep and goats have flourished over the wide range afforded by 

the public domain. Several of the largest 
THE IjIVE stock INDUSTRY cattle companies operating in the Southwest 

have their home ranches in the county and 
in the earlier days the cattleman was king. His range has now been diminished 
somewhat, both by the large number of homestead entries and by restrictions 
upon grazing in the half million acres of the Lincoln National Forest where only 
a limited number of cattle and sheep are allowed by the Forestry Bureau. The 
county, however, still has one of the largest open ranges in the territory and in 
addition to the big companies there are many owners of small herds and a mag- 
nificent showing of the best Hereford blood. 

Sheep growing is second in importance to the cattle industry and in the aver- 
age season is very profitable, while small herds of goats, in the aggregate reach- 
ing several thousand, are ranged in the mountainous districts. 




I»ubllc Sfhool. Capltan 



12 



LINCOLN COUNTY 



As in all other stock-growing sections of New Mexico the tendency in Lincoln 
county is to reduce the size of the herds, both of cattle and sheep and maintain 
values by more careful methods of growing and by improving the breed. 

The range in this county is now carrying about all it will stand in the way of 
large herds. The public domain is being encroached upon constantly by home- 
seekers and as a result there is little opportunity for the new man to engage in 
the livestock industry on a large scale unless he buys out some established busi- 
ness. As the grade of the stock is raised, however, the business promises to 
become even more profitable and there is always room for the few head of stock 
which the homeseeker may desire to keep. 




nndiu" t'iittle on (he Har W Hanch. 




A HiicVs-Eye 




1 1 WliiU" ()ak> 



Tke Mineral Resources of Lincoln 

County 

By John Y. Hewitt.* 

FROM the northern to the southern boundary of Lincoln county ,a distance of 
about seventy-five miles, extends a series of mountain ranges or groups, in all 
of which valuable mineral deposits have been disclosed. In the Gallinas, the 
more northerly range, lead and copper ores of high grade and in considerable 
quantities have been developed, but through want of transportation during the 
earlier history of the district mining has not progressed as rapidly or to the 
extent which the merits of the ores would seem to warrant. Recently, however, 
much work has been done in preparing these mines for active operation on an 
extensive scale. The oldest properties, the Deadwood and Red Cloud claims, long 
since patented, are owned by Kansas City and Missouri parties and while they 
have produced some high grade copper and lead ores are not being worked. As 
in many other cases the owners are engaged in other avocations than mining 
which absorb their entire attention and these mines, consequently are neglected 
though capable of producing profitable results if properly worked. The Hoosier 
group, now owned by the Old Hickory Mining Company, comprising something 
like twenty claims and also the Buckhorn combination, are now under bonds and 
leases and will, probably, soon be producing. Ores from the Hoosier group have 
been subjected to smelter tests producing an average of $22.96 to the ton in 
copper and lead, while $94.00 was realized from the Buckhorn. 

JICARILLA MOUNTAINS: Placer mining has been carried on continu- 
ously in the Jicarilla mountain canyons, though by crude and indifferent appli- 
ances, during the past thirty years. There are large bodies of pay dirt in these 
canyons, comprising the Ancho, Rico, Juana and other gulches, but the lack of 
sufficient water for sluicing on a large scale has reduced the operations to the 
rocker and methods of like character. -The existence of these placers has led to 
extensive prospecting for the mother-lode; but, while here and there, quartz car- 
rying gold has been found, it is not believed that the real source has yet been 
discovered. It probably remains for some "tenderfoot" to blunder onto the rich 
mother-lode which experts agree must exist somewhere in these mountains. 

A few years ago indications of valuable copper deposits were discovered near 
the southern limits of these mountains, which resulted in the formation of the 
Fleming-Fox Mining and Smelting Company. This company now has eight claims 
constituting the "Honey Eee Group." One shaft is 150 feet deep, one 240 feet 
with 1,100 feet of drifting and an 80-foot incline. The company has installed a 
first class hoisting plant and has developed a water supply of 1,000 gallons per 
hour, the well being equipped with a modern pumping plant. At this point tests 
were made of an ore body 30 feet wide which shewed fifteen per cent copper from 
samples taken across the entire body, as it occurred in the whole mass. The de- 
velopment on these properties is going forward gradually with the expectation of 
even better results as depth is attained. 

WHITE OAKS: Baxter mountain, one of the smallest of the White Oaks 
group, has at periods for nearly thirty > tars been the scene of much activity and 
again, has suffered the periods of depr< s-ii n common to gold camps. From thi.s 
little mountain has been extracted NEAliLY THREE MILLION DOLLARS IN 
GOLD BULLION, and this largely from three claims: the OLD ABE, the NORTH 
HOMESTAKE and the SOUTH HOMESTAKE. The ores are free milling and 
carry almost exclusively gold. The Old Abe is equipped with a 20-stamp mill and 
a sixty-ton cyanide plant. The South Homestake 'has also a 20-stamp mill, while 
from time to time three other mills have been operated here. The Old Abe has 
a vertical shaft which has reached a depth of 1,4 28 feet and is practically dry. 



•Mr. Hewitt, a pioneer of Lincoln county, has been closely associated with the development of its 
mineral resources. His thoroug-h knowledge of conditions makes him an authority. 



LINCOLN COUNTY 



17 



The North Homestake has a depth of 1,200 feet and is also free from water and 
other claims have been explored to depths varying from a prospect hole to 
825 feet. 

The Yellow Jacket group, on the west side of Lone Mountain, about three 
miles from White Oaks, is upon an immense cropping of iron, carrying copper, 
and from which several cars of ore have been shipped, the smelter returns show- 
ing a profit to the shippers. The deepest workings on this group are something 
like 100 feet. The whole group of flse or six claims shows croppings of the same 
ores throughout its extent. 

Many other enterprises in this district have produced very rich ores, but for 
one reason or another, generally complications in the ownership, have not been 
developed to the extent their apparent worth would warrant. Among these may 
be mentioned the Little Mack, Compromise, Rita, Comstock, Hannibal, Home- 
stake South. 

In Lone Mountain of this group are large deposits of high grade iron ore, 
lime and marble in almost inexhaustable quantities and in the opposite dierction 
from the town of White Oaks in the foothills of Patos and Carrizo occur four 
foot seams of excellent coal. Tlie presence of this marble, coal and shale which 
closely accompanies the coal and is readily accessible, warrants the belief that soon 
they will be utilized for the manufacture of Portland cement, the demand for 
which is growing so rapidly as to attract the attention of manufacturers to the 
available deposits of these materials, the combination of which, as in this district, 
rarely occurs in the Southwest. 

White Oaks is twelve miles from Carrizozo, its station on the El Paso and 
Southwestern railroad. It is the northern limit of the Lincoln county coal fields, 
so far as development has shown. This field extends through the Tiscon group of 
mountains to the town of Capitan and southerly to the Ruidoso where some seams 
have been exposed. 

Iron ores are also fovmd in large quantities in the Jicarillas, the Capitan 
range and in other localities in the county. 

VERA CRUZ: The Vera Cruz, a mountain of low grade gold ore, lies ten 
miles south of White Oaks, in the Tiscon group of mountains. The present owner, 
the Vera Cruz Mining Companx-, has constructed a fine milling plant, with six 
Huntington mills and a 
first class electric powtr 
plant. It has been found. 
however, that the ore .--o 
far treated has been too 
low in values to leave a 
profit out of the saving 
from amalgamation alone 
and it is thought a cyandie 
plant will be necessary to 
place the property on a 
paying basis. 

NOGAL: A b o u 1 ten 
miles further south occurs 
the Nogal, or Dry Gulch 
camp, where quite exten- 
sive mining operations 
h a v e bee n carried on. 
These operations have 
been somewhat spasmodic, 
but much development 
has been accomplished 
and considerable v e r y 
rich ore has been pro- 
duced. The oldest claims 
and around which all 
others revolve are those ' 

forming the American Lode, originally located by William J. Gill in 1871. From 
this property has been mined some of the richest specimens of gold ore the 
region has produced. It is known that many thousands of dollars 
worth of this ore has been taken out of the American, but as much of 
it has been unaccounted for it would be useless to attempt an approximate esti- 
mate of what the mine has yielded. The property is now idle, owing to litigation. 




Carrizo Mountain, frum \\ hiic oaks 



18 



LINCOLN COUNTY 



In the immediate vicinity of this group lies the "Helen Rae" group, comprising 
thirty or more claims from which have been extracted ores of much the same 
character as in the American; and as in the case of the latter, there is no reliable 
data from which to arrive at the amount of the output. Many other claims in this 
district have shown more or less of values, but at present none are in active 
operation. 

In former years considerable work was done in the placer ground extending 
from the vicinity of the American and Helen Rae groups down Dry Gulch to the 
town of Nogal, a distance of about three miles. These placers have shown good 
values, but like those in the Jicarillas, have not had a sufficient water supply for 
operation on a large scale. 

THE CAPITAN DISTRICT: The El Paso and Northeastern railroad was 
completed to Capitan in 1899 when the coal mines there were first opened up, and 
for years daily train loads of coal were sent to the smelters and other coal con- 
sumers of the Southwest. The town was one of the big coal camps of New Mexico. 
In 1905 the El Paso and Northeastern sold its railroad and holdings to the El Paso 
and Southwestern system which just at that time had begun "to mine on a large 
scale in the great coal fields at Dawson, in Colfax county. The company built a 
large coke plant there and devoted all its energies to the new field. The result 




The Plant of Jhe South Honu'stako and tlie Old .\be Mine at White Oaks 



LINCOLN COUNTY 



19 



has been a temporary closing down of the mines at Capitan. The Southwestern 
system retains control of the field, however, and will re-open it when the demand 
for coal increases. 

On the east side of the Sierra Blanca, or White Mountain range are valuable 
deposits of gold, silver, lead and copper and extensive development is now under 
way there. The gold ore is free milling on the surface but the little depth thus 
far attained indicates that the ore will become refractor>- and that the best means 
of handling the product will be by smelting, dispensing with the free milling pro- 
cess which has been used in the past with only limited success. 

The most important property in the White Mountain section is owned by the 
Eagle Mining and Improvement Company, which controls a group of about 100 
claims in what is known as the Parsons mining district and upon which the com- 
pany has just completed a cyanide plant to handle tailings. The Eagle properties 
consist of large bodies of low grade gold ore requiring the handling of immense 
quantities in ordt r to show a profit, but the deposits are so vast and the means of 
working so economical that it is confidently believed the property will become one 
of the most profitable in New Mexico, giving employment to a large force of men 
and leading to extensive development of adjacent properties of the same character. 

Generally the mineral resources of Lincoln county have just been scratched. 
The county offers a most alluring field for the prospector. Lack of trans- 
portation and lack of capital have delayed development in the past: but 
these will come, indeed, are now coming and the result is certain to be the opening 
up of a great mining region. The deposits of iron and coal are practically inex- 
haustible and building stone, shales and clays of commercial value exist in enor- 
mous bodies and in such close proximity as to offer every opportunity for economi- 
cal manufacturing. 




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Business Conur at Capitaii. Geo. W. Titsworlhs Rtsiclenco. 




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33 



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The rlealth Giving Climate of 
Lincoln County 

NEW MEXICO, now bccoiring Known thioughout the nation as "Tho^ Land of 
Opportunity," has long had world-wide fame as "The Land of Sunshine." 
Over its whole area the territory has a greater average of sunshine than 
any other region in the world. Its climate is recognized without any reservation, 
as nearest to the ideal on the American continent. The scientists and specialists 
of the world vinite in pronouncing it without rival in the treatment of diseases of 
the throat and lungs, offering all the desirable conditions for successfully 
combating pulmonary tuberculosis. New Mexico is the sanitarium of the 
nation and to its dry, crisp, invigorating air and its all but perpetual sunshine, is 
turning an ever-growing army of sufferers from tuberculosis who are finding relief, 
and, when they come in time, a cure. 

The climate of New Mexico compels superlatives. Its advantages are beyond 
exaggeration. Often in mid-summer the heat in the lower valleys becomes intense. 
But there is alwa\s shade and always a breeze and the dry air makes comfortable a 
temperature which in the humid regions would be unbearable. Here a case of 
sunstroke or heat prostration is unknown. In almost every section of the territory 
one may reach the cool of a mountain canyon in an hour's ride. The^ winters, even 
at the higher elevations, are brief and the cold is never severe. 

There are thousands of people in New Mexico today, now healthy, prosperous, 
useful citizens, who, had they remained in the humid regions would have died or 
become a charge upon their friends. It has been demonstrated beyond all question 
that the sufferer from tuberculosis, who comes to New Mexico in the early stages of 
the disease, may be cured. Even in its later stages the climate, with right living 
and care will do much to arrest the disease and prolong life. And this climate is 
to be found, not in any particular section, but throughout practically the whole of 
the territory. ^ " 

P^ven in this favored region, however, there are sections particularly favored. 
One of these is Lincoln county; a fact recognized by the United States Government 
when it established at Fort Stanton the great sanitorium of the Marine hospital ser- 
vice, for tuberculosis patients. It is a noteworthy fact that the only other hospital 
of this kind which the Government has established, is also in New Mexico; the arm> 
sanitorium for tuberculosis patients at Fort Eayard in Grant county. 




lent Houses, l-'ort fttanloii s>aiutoriujn 



22 



LINCOLN COUNTY 



Fort Stanton, one of the earliest of the frontier military posts in New Mexico, 
was for some years one of the most important stations in the Southwest and from 
it much of the earlier Indian warfare was directed. It was a supply station, was 
substantially built with roomy quarters for officers and men and its location in the 
beautiful valley of the Eonito made it one of the most desirable in the West; cool 
and free from the dust of the plains in summer and sheltered from the winter 
storms. 

When the Marine Ho.spital Service found a tuberculosis hospital necessary, 
Fort Stanton, which had been abandoned by the War Department, was the unani- 
mous choice of the experts of the service. No more ideal location could have been 
found and this sanitorium has become a model for similar institutions, while the 
results obtained have attracted the attention of scientists and tuberculosis spe- 
cialists throughout the world. The substantial buildings of the early days have 
been remodeled to suit their new uses; the less substantial have been replaced by 
modern buildings, along the most approved lines of modern hospital construction 
and from the model laundry in which every article of clothing and linen is sterilized 
to the modern laboratories in which specialists are seeking new means to combat 
the great white plague, every detail of the equipment is absolutely complete. 

The Fort Stanton sanitorium was discharging tuberculosis patients — cured, 
while the great mass of scientists still believed the disea.se incurable. The treat- 
ment is very simple and extremely sensible. It is enforced by rigid military dis- 
cipline. The reservation consists of some 20,000 acres, of which much is agricul- 
tural land, and the hospital farm forms an important part of the treatment, for 
every patient who has the strength is permitted to do his share of the farm work, 
the hospital producing much of its own supplies of feed, grain and vegetables, 
supporting also a herd of blooded cattle as well as horses, sheep and hogs. If the 
patient is strong enough when received, he is immediately introduced to mild work 
on the farm. Greatest care is taken to prevent over-exertion and the patient 
does not go to work until work becomes a pleasure. The treatment may be sum- 
marized in a very few words: Diet, fresh air and exercise regulated to the patient's 
strength. The quantity of drugs used is amazingly small. The patients are quar- 
tered in comfortable barracks, almost equal to living in the open air, so perfect is 
the ventilation, and in tents which are found very satisfactory. Nourishing diet 
builds strength and flesh, exercise toughens the muscles and fresh air heals the 
broken tissues of the lungs. That is the whole of the treatment and its success is 
a prophecy of the time when the white plague will have been stampd out of 
America. It is a treatment which may be applied just as thoroughly and as suc- 
cessfully by the individual sufferer, if he is willing to discipline himself. 

The ciimate of Fort Stanton is practically the climate of the whole county. 
To the east and west in the lower altitudes the summers are warmer, but the 
temperature even there is not high enough to cause suffering and the whole 
county is generally free from the spring winds which cause discomfort in some 
sections of the territory. 

Lincoln county is the heart of the Land of Sunshine. It offers health to the 
sufferer as well as opportunity to the homeseeker ,and not infrequently there is 
need that the search for health 1 e corpled with opportunity to earn a livelihood. 




A Residence, VVliite Oaks 




S<'ones in Carrizozo, Shov^lng the Railroad Shops and Station 




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.58 






The lo^\^ns and v illages of 
L/incoln County 

CAKItlZOZO A TOWN WITH A FUTURE: Carrizozo, une hundred and forty-four 
miles north of El Paso on the El Paso and Southwestern railroad, a railroad 
division point, the shipping station for the jirincipal mining districts of Lin- 
coln county, surrounded by a rich agricultural district just now beginning its devel- 
opment, is one of the most promising towns not only in Lincoln county, but in all 
eastern New Mexico. The town was founded in August, 190B. At that time it 
boasted of a railroad station and nothing else. Today, Carrizozo has a population 
of more than 1,500 and is growing rapidly. Already the principal town in the 
county, it is likely to become one of the princii)al centers of population in the 
eastern section. 

A great man^^ favorable conditions have united to make this husky young in- 
fant. The El Paso and Southwestern railroad has established large shops there 
and these, with the division offices, bring in a great man>- people It is the ship- 
ping station for practically all of the mining districts described in the preceding 
pages on mining, as well as for a considerable portion of the livestock country. 
The branch line of the El Paso and Southwestern to Capitan leaves the main line 
at Carrizozo and gives the town close touch with the Capitan district and practi- 
cally with the whole settled portion of the county. 

Carrizozo is surrounded by a valley from eight to fifteen miles wid<' and about 
thirty miles long on which, in 1908, dry farmers raised from 25 to 40 Inishels of corn 
to the acre without irrigation. This year a large increase in the acreage will be shown. 
The town- has possibilities as a manufacturing point. A railroad line has been 
surveyed to the great iron deposits lying to the north and all the other ma- 
terials for cheap reduction, including coal, are near at hand. A large brick factory 
at Ancho, twenty miles north, furnishes cheap building material and the character 
of construction both of Ijusiness houses and residences, is substantial. 

The town has a splendid si!pi)ly of pure mountain water, brought by a pipe line 




Residences of Paul Mayer and Iice H. Rudisille and the 

Public School at White Oaks 



26 



LINCOLN COUNTY 




A Herd of Angora Goats. A Growing Industry in liincoln Ck)unty. 

from the Eonito river, thirty mile.s away. This pipe line is a notable engineering 
feat, the water being piped across a range of mountains. It was constructed by the 
Southwestern system to give the railroad a water supply at Carrizozo, the supply 
from wells there being unsatisfactory for use in boilers and for general domestic 
use. Carrizozo has a new $10,000 school building, which would be a credit to any 
community, there are several church organizations which will soon have their own 
buildings and social conditions are pleasant. All lines of staple business are 
represented by enterprising merchants and the town has its quota of professional 
men. There are two well edited weekly newspapers, the News and the Outlook. 
A strong effort is now fcting made to bring the county seat from the old town of 
Lincoln to Carrizozo. 

WHITE OAKS was one of the first settlements in this section of New Mexico 
and came into prominence first as a gold mining camp, having around it such 
famous properties as the Old Abe, the North Homestake and the South Homestake. 
It was for many years, prior to the coming of the railroad, one of the principal 
distributing points in the county and its largest town. White Oaks is known to 
every pioneer of New Mexico. It is famous in the history of the territory's mineral 
development and at least one popular novelist has inade it and its surrounding 
territory the scene of one of his most entertaining stories. The town, in spite of 
the fact that it lacks railroad t ommunication is substantially built, with well con- 
structed business blocks and attractive homes, and boasts a fine school building. 
Its location is beautiful and the scenery surrounding it magnificent. The town is 
certain to come into prominence again with the development of the county's min- 
ing resources. There is a small area of farming land of which only a part is 
under cultivation. 

LINCOLN, the county seat, has been described briefly in the preceding pages. 
It is beautifully located in the valley of the Bonito, overshadowed by towering 
mountains, and is the center of a prosperous agricultural district. Some fifteen 
hundred acres are in cultivation in the immediate vicinity, all under irrigation. 
Some of the finest fruit grown in New Mexico is produced here. 



CAPITAN is the terminus of the Capitan branch of the El Paso and South- 
western railroad and is the railroad station for the county seat and for Fort 
Stanton as well as for the country to the south and cast. Its business houses enjoy 
a good trade and the town is likely to become an important one when work in the 



28 LINCOLN COUNTY 

coal mines there is resumed. The town has a fine school building and is sur- 
rounded by some two thousand acres of proven farming land, all of which may be 
dry farmed and of which some 1.200 acres arc in cultivation. 

CORONA, within a few miles of the northern line of the county on the El 
Paso and Southwestern railroad, is an important shipping point for live stock. It 
is the principal shipping station for the important slieep growing district covering 
northern Lincoln and southern Guadalupe and Torrance counties. It will become 
the center of a farming district with development. At present little more than 
800 acres are in cultivation of an area subjei-t to dry farming estimated at more 
than n.OOO acres. 

NOGAI> is l.tautifully located at the mouth of the Nogal canyon, three miles 
from Walnut station on the Capitan branch of the Southwestern railroad and 
wlien the mines of the vicinity are in operation is a busy village. Some seven hun- 
dred acres of land are in cultivation in the vicinitj' nut of an area subject to culti- 
vation of from 1,200 to 1,500 acres. 

OSCURO, near the southwestern corner of the count.v, on the El Paso and 
Southwestern railroad, is the center of a promising farming district just now being 
opened up. Like Corona only a very small part of the area which may be dry 
farmed is under cultivation. There are at a low estimate, 2,,^)00 acres of land in this 
vicinity which may be reclaimed by dry farming. 

Other towns and settlements in the county are: Angus, Alto, Ruidoso, Glen- 
coe, San Patricio, Hondo, Analla, Picacho, Meek, Arabella, Richardson, Ancho, 
Jicarilla, Fort Stanton, Parsons, Bonito. 

Summarizing briefly, Lincoln county has a small area under irrigation and 
subject to irrigation and a very large area under dry farming and subject to dry 
farming, which combined, will support a large and prosperous population. There 

is quick tiansportation to markets which will readily consume 
THE OUTLOOK every pound of fruit, grain, feed and produce the county can 

grow at its highest stage of development. Of the farming 
ai't a a large portion is oi)en to t ntry luider the federal land laws and much of the 
lemainder may be purchased at moderate prices. The county has vast resources 
of gold, copper, lead, coal, iron, manufacturing cla.vs, marble and building stone. 
It has a fully developed live stock industry which will always remain an important 
wealth producer. The county is well and economically governed. It has good 
schools. Its people are law abiding and prosperous. The climate lends itself not 
only to successfully carrying cm its \aii( d industi'ies, but makes for health and the 
fullest enjoyment of life. 

It is not surprising that under these conditions homeseekers are coming into 
the county in constantly increasing numbers. In this new land, just beginning its 
development the rule "first come first served" holds good and the pioneers are 
getting the more favored locations. 

For the man who is looking to the southwestern country, Lincoln county will 
repay careful investigation. The only satisfactory way to make this investigation 
is to come in person and see what the county has to offer. The time to come is now. 

This bulletin is issued by direction of the Bureau of Immigration, an official 
body organized under the laws of New Mexico. Its members are appointed every 
two years by the Governor and are confirmed by the upper house of the Legisla- 
ture. The Bureau is charged with the duty of 
INFORMATION ON REQUEST encouraging desirable immigration, advertising 

the resources of the territory and promoting its 
development wherever possible. As now constituted the Board is: Geo. L. Brooks, 
Albuquerciue, President; John A. Haley, Carrizozo, Treasurer; M. M. Padgett, East 
Las Vegas, W. Goff Black, Aztec, Howard H. Betts, Silver City, L. K. McGaffey, 
Roswell. Any member of the Bureau will be glad to answer questions concerning 
his district, and the Board employs a secretary whose duty it is to give prompt 
attention to inquiries. 

Any information desired concerning Lincoln county or any section of New 
Mexico may be obtained by addressing H. B. Hening, Secretary, Bureau of Immi- 
gration, Albuquerque, N. M. 






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